School's Out Scream and Shout

It has already started. This morning the smell of sunscreen was in the air and the endless chatter of Disney channel shows echoed through the house. Bikes were being washed, tires were being inflated, and the day was being planned.  All of this was done by 8:20 and they still had 4 more hours of school to attend before calling it quits for 2 months.  It's a bitter sweet day for me.  No more sack lunches to prepare, no more planners to sign, class websites can be un-bookmarked off of our computer, no more alarm clocks, no more book reports or Chinese flashcards and no more harassing about daily homework.  At the end of all that comes questioning that chores are done, endless bickering, constant messes, constant choas, incessant pleas to go to the pool, "I'm hungry", "none of my friends are home" and let's not forget those dreaded words "I'm bored" (like nails on a chalk board I tell ya).  But despite all this, my goal is to enjoy it.  I watched several kids from our neighborhood graduate this week. These are kids that when we moved into this neighborhood were the same age as my Asher right now. Now they are graduating and preparing to leave home for college and missions.  That time went so fast, and my kids will grow and be leaving just as fast.  So this summer I want to hug them a little tighter and enjoy their noise a little more because it will all end a little (a lot) too soon. And this post is for me to read when the days are a little too long and little too tiring. I love my kids!!

Someone had a birthday........

.....Shout Hooray!  Little Miss Ainsley turned 4 on Sunday.  Can I just say that I love that this little girl came to our family.  She is so full of energy, which on somedays is a little exhausting and frustrating, but I wouldn't want her any other way. She is so kind to everyone and loves to do nice things for people, she says she "loves to make people's hearts feel happy".

Ainsley loves her friends!  She asks everyday to have a friend over.  Some of her friends right now are Sicily, Kai, Isabella, Rachel, Annie, Kika, and Aubrey. Her friends also include some of my friends and their teenage daughters.  She adores Miss Barbie and Miss Alyson and it is common to find her giving them hugs and asking if she can come play at their house.  Miss Barbie's daughter Elsa is also one of Ainsley's favorite buddies.  

  I love her smile and she is generous in sharing it.  She is so sweet to her Brother and Sister, just yesterday at Asher's baseball she yelled out to 2nd base from the bleachers and said "just do your best Asher".  It was so cute to hear her little voice call out and for him to glance over at her and give her a tender smile.  Eden and Ainsley are perfect sister together, they do nails and play, Ainsley is always telling Eden she is pretty and Eden is always asking for hugs and kisses.  

When we asked Ainsley what she wanted for her birthday she would always respond "everything! everything that's good and girlie". I loved it! And little Ainsley, WE LOVE YOU! Happy Birthday!!

Easter 2013

I am so glad that the weather decided to warm up a little for Easter.  It made the celebration so much more enjoyable.  Our holiday turned out to be a great day  weekend.  It all began on Saturday with a birthday party for my sweet mom and an Easter egg hunt for the kids.  We had a brunch of french toast with fruit and hot chocolate (mom's request).  Unfortunately, the exterior of our house was under construction which made the egg hunt a little messy, but the scaffolding made for some great hiding spots.  My mom did something different and there was an egg with a number inside of it and a sticker on the outside letting the kids know that if they already had an egg with the sticker they couldn't have another.  When they opened the egg the kids discovered which place in line would be theirs.  After all the eggs were found the kids lined up accordingly and were able to choose a prize from my mom's treasure stash.  Eden chose a magnet wand that extends so she can get the screws that fall behind the dryer-random.  Ainsley chose a littlest pet shop toy and Asher chose a softball.  Oh!! Ainsley found the golden egg (with a little help from my sister) which contained 5$.  She was a little confused why there wasn't candy in the egg, she probably would have preferred the chocolate.

(The tongue comes out whenever she gets nervous, I guess all the kids cheering for her freaked her out a little)

Easter morning was great the kids found their basket and searched for candy hidden around the house.  The Easter bunny had way more hiding places in this house than he did in our old house, which made for candy being found days later, in fact Ainsley just found some m&m's yesterday, 2 weeks after Easter!  I loved when I found the candy.

 (Easter outfits)

Bunny mouths

After church we headed to Cache's parents for a Easter dinner and another egg hunt.  Dinner was delicious! Ham, Au Gratin potatoes (has anyone had the Reser Au Gratin's from Costco-oh my delicious! and all you have to do is heat them), homemade rolls, Miriam's delicious cucumber and tomato creamy vinegar bowl.  It was all so good. The Merrill's egg tradition is each grandkid has a special egg color and they can only hunt for their special eggs.  They have three properties in a row, so it makes for a large territory to find your eggs.  I remember one year my nephew Perrin found an egg from the previous Easter, hahah and he was lucky because it had quarters in it.  Cute Grandma and Grandpa also changed up the egg hunt and put questions about the saviors crucifixion in random eggs and the kids would have to take the questions to grandpa and give a correct answer to the question and they would receive money for answering correctly.  The kids liked it.  

I am grateful for the Easter season and the time it gives me to stop and think about the special gift that was given to me. I am very grateful for the Savior and His atonement and I know my understanding isn't fully what it could be, but I know that everyday I am able to use it and with time my understanding will grow and develop. 

Eden's 11th

I can't let February pass me by without blogging about Eden's birthday. I can't believe she is 11!  She has gone from this.....

To this.....

She is kind, beautiful, friendly, spiritual, helpful, thoughtful, sweet, sensitive, and sometimes a little moody.  We are so glad she is in our family.  

For her birthday she really wanted a shellac light and some Sorel boots.  Lucky for her she got both! and a few other small items. 

We told her that because the items were a little more money than what we usually spend on birthdays she would not be able to have a birthday party with her friends this year. 

But...............We felt bad and arranged to have some friends over a few days later for a SIMPLE surprise get together.  

(I just went to find the pictures I took of the party, and can you believe I didn't take one Picture??)

Eden had been out with her grandma shopping for a present and when she came home, thinking that she had to babysit, her friends were waiting to surprise her.  Although, she didn't act as surprised as I thought she would. I expected screaming and yelling from excitement and all we got were a few smiles and a look of confusion. "so what? I don't have to babysit?" was all said.

They had pizza and cake and played a few rounds of bingo with some super lame prizes, but they loved it.  After the raging bingo game they watched Nacho Libre.  In the end I think it turned out to be a great birthday for my sweet Neenie!

Birthday festivities:

Breakfast: crepes

Lunch: Kneaders with Mom, Dad and Ainsley

after school she rushed off to gymnastics stayed there for 2 hours instead of 3. 

came home to her dinner of choice: Chicken Alfredo (which was cold because we had to eat before she got home from gymnastics because Cache had YM and Asher also had gymnastics)

dessert: cupcakes and a birthday song sung to her by me and Ainsley since we were the only ones home. (good thing we had that party because her birthday evening was a little sad)

July 4th

Yay! for the 4th of July and the annual neighborhood parade. When we told the kids we were going to be moving back to Utah, they asked if we would be back for the bike parade. This is definitely a short lived tradition that is one of our family favorites.

Our neighborhood gets together for a breakfast and bike parade on the morning of the fourth. It usually consists of a program, flag raising, and the national anthem, but the kids are so ready to get on their bikes it is hard to contain them.

The blue and white six-tuplets.

And the parade would not be complete without brother Haugen's wildfire water extinguisher that he fills with soapy water and fills the street with bubbles. Good times which causes a huge mess on the clothes, but clean asphalt afterwards :)

Ainsley dressing up diva-style at Ms. Barbie's house after the parade.

so much has happened

A lot has gone on since my last posting. One big thing is Peanut turning 8!

waking up on her birthday morning and getting ready to open her gifts, which were mostly clothes from JUSTICE (her favorite store, my least favorite store)

This is the first year we were able to have her birthday party on her actual birthday (february 6) She wanted to have a Valentines brunch.

Menu included:

cinnamon rolls with pink frosting

breakfast casserole (which only the adults ate)

Pink lemonade

strawberries

Lots of games and activities:

bracelet making

valentine IPOD making

chocolate strawberry and pretzel dipping

Don't eat pete

musical chairs

heavy heavy hang over they poor head

Finley has now graduated to professional chocolatier

we just need to teach to stop licking his fingers, but who can resist? I know I can't.

goodbye 7!

Today is Peanut's last day of being 7.

She wanted to get glitter toes to help say goodbye to 7th year.

But, Peanut.......8 is great!!!!

Wednesdays! #2

22.4 to go

curious?

Marital bliss

10 years

8 vacations

7 cars

5 jobs for him

4 homes

3 kids

3 jobs for me

2 mortgages

1 eternal life together

Innumerable happiness

Happy Anniversary Cachey

1st grade

The picture above is blurry, it's not your eyes

Peanut started 1st grade yesterday. Tears were involved. Although they weren't her tears they were mine. I thought I would only cry when she went to Kindergarten, but no, I am losing her ALL DAY now. Again, I wondered if she is ready, does she know right from wrong, will the kids tease her, will she have someone to play with at recess, what if she gets hurt will the teacher give her a hug, will she know how to navigate through lunch? All these questions went through my mind yesterday, I watched the clock and at 2:50 I jumped in the car to go to the school to pick her up. I missed her, but she did great. She couldn't wait to go again. The only thing that was a problem was that I sent her with cold lunch and the school had changed pizza day from Friday to Tuesday and she missed out on her favorite food, she was bummed. Next Tuesday we will be sure to let her have school lunch.

July 24th

I am so behind on posting I am just going to rush through everything, so my pictures aren't in the best condition because all will be straight out of camera which means no editing.

Every 24th my side of the family has a reunion with all of my cousins and Aunts and Uncles. It is really crazy with tons of kids, food, and fun. In the last couple of years we have turned it into a carnival theme with cotton candy and bounce houses. And of course it is not a true cousin party without playing in the "crick"(aka creek) that runs through my parents backyard. My grandparents lived next door to where my parents live now and as kids we would always play in the "crick", we are now handing the tradition down the next generation. It's so fun to see my cousins, as kids we would get together at my grandparents house just about every Sunday. Now all we see each other is on the 24th and at Christmas time. I always look forward to this day. Here are the pictures:

Family Fun

Looking for something fun for this weekend? We are headed off to this:
Family Fun Fair

Maybe we will see you there.

Also a post isn't a post without some pictures so here are some from our July 4th weekend up in Oakley.

Oakley ParadeWorking at the cabin with Grandpa, Finley stayed in the tractor for most of the time. or played with his favorite pit bull Thor. If I could I would keep this dog, he was so sweet to the kids. Finley would lay on him every chance he could (unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them together)

Oakley Rodeo (unedited) The kids loved it and couldn't take their eyes off the action. The fireworks at the end were fantastic.

It's the birthday boy!

Today is Cache's birthday, he is 31. So far this birthday has been better than last year, he moped around and had a quarter life crisis for an entire week. "I'm 30!wah-hah" "Is that a gray hair?" "look at all the hair I'm loosing". I haven't had the depressing 30th year yet, but come on, can it be that bad?

I picked up his birthday present last night, it has been at my brother-in-laws house for two weeks. I am really excited, because he has wanted a foosball table for years and I caved in and bought him one this year. I can't wait to see his face as he walks in the door and sees it(he is at Fathers and sons with Finley). We might have to have a few playoff games before we leave for an early mothers day celebration in Heber. Poor guy has to share his birthday with me, but he is a good sport about it.

Dear Cache,

Thanks so much for being you! I am grateful to have a husband that helps with dishes, cleaning, ironing,cooking, and diapering. Thanks so much for the patience you show me when you have to help with these things because I didn't do them,I know you would much rather be playing your guitar. Thanks for being frugal (yes, I am grateful for this) and level headed, if it were up to me we would be living beyond our means in a big giant house and paying off maxed out credit cards and driving cars that aren't paid off. And wow am I grateful that you work so hard to provide for our family so we can have food and shelter and clothing and cute shoes. Because of you our lives have much less stress. I love you tons, even more than the day we were married. I hope the next 31 years are exciting, joyful and full of fun.
Love you and S.M.I.L.E!
Carrie

Cache was feeling unappreciated yesterday, so I want him to know how appreciated he is here at home and how much we love him.

Happiness at our house!

Zinch was featured on the Today Show on Monday. As you can imagine it has our household clapping our hands. Sorry guys for the brag moment, but I have to rejoice in the good news, it's what keeps us going when the times are hard.

Cache is the "computer guy" for Zinch (for those who didn't know)

What is wrong with me?

I am suffering from a case of un-motivatedness. I can't seem to want to do anything productive. My house is suffering, my laundry is piling up. I don't know how to get out of it. I get up and start to clean the bathrooms and then I get distracted or I just decide I don't want to do it and the bathroom never gets cleaned. I hate feeling this way, but I can't shake it. Anybody have any suggestions?

I guess I will post some about Easter, while I am here. Saturday morning we had a neighborhood egg hunt at the park, which was fun and VERY cold. Don't wear flipflops when it is 45 degrees outside and you plan on frolicking in dewy grass looking for colorful plastic eggs, if you do your toes will end up turning blue and you will be unable to move them for about 47 minutes. Please learn from my mistakes.

Immediately after the park we went to my Mom and Dad's house for yet another egg hunt. The Easter bunny must love to hide candy in my parents yard, because she hid her entire supply there. My kids each walked away with a plastic grocery bag FULL of goodies. After the hunt we pretended it was summer and we all gathered around the fire pit and roasted hotdogs. Not very "Eastery" I know, but it was fun.Sunday morning we had our own hunt here at home, in which the Easter bunny did not leave any candy only umbrellas, bubbles, Enchanted, and moon sand. Darn Easter bunny must be watching her intake of candy. Sunday afternoon was spent at Cache's parents house enjoying ham, funeral potatoes, homemade rolls, and a delicious swiss desert involving an apple slice, batter, a frying pan, and homemade custard. It was oh so yummy. And of course another party requires another egg hunt. It was a beautiful day and the hunt was so nice, with color coordinated eggs for each child and only the best candy within those eggs (snickers, reese's, kitkat's).

Aside from the festivities of Easter, Cache and I tried to teach the kids about the true meaning of the holiday. Peanut grasped it very well, she even came up with her own reason why we die eggs. She said "I know why we color eggs, because the shell is like our body and the egg is like our spirit. When we die it is removing the shell from the egg" She also took the opportunity of Easter to be a missionary. We have some new neighbors a few houses down from us and on Sunday Peanut went down to play with their kids, Peanut asked if they had a good Easter and the mom replied by saying they were from Jerusalem and didn't celebrate Easter. Peanut got really excited and explained that she "flew" to Jerusalem in primary that day and saw the tomb of Jesus and went on to say how fun primary was. I hope that I can take my daughters example and be as open about our religion as she chose to be.Photo courtesy of Cache

I am grateful for the Easter season and the opportunity it gives us to remember the sacrifice our savior made for us. I really tried to understand the atonement more this week and I feel my testimony has grown and developed stronger roots.